Carpet odors (e.g., an odor associated with a pet that has urinated on the carpet) are often caused by an odorous liquid that has soaked through the carpet and down into the padding located directly below the carpet. Accordingly, a standard method for treating carpet odors is to inject an odor-neutralizing fluid into the carpet at the source of the odorous liquid using a hypodermic needle. This method limits the coverage area of the injected fluid to the small area immediately surrounding the needle tip. Hypodermic-needle methods also make it difficult to direct the odor-neutralizing fluid to the carpet padding because it can be hard to judge the carpet thickness and the penetration depth of the hypodermic needle when inserting the hypodermic needle into the carpet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,340 to Leonard Eugene Bates (hereinafter, “Bates”), titled “Truck mounted carpet cleaning machine,” issued Aug. 29, 1978, and is incorporated herein by reference. Bates describes a carpet cleaning machine mounted on a truck or van for transport to the work site. The main power for the machine is developed by an internal combustion engine which drives an injection pump, a vacuum pump, and a sump pump. A reservoir maintains and stores a supply of cooling water-cleaning fluid for removing heat generated by the engine. Coolant-cleaning fluid is drawn from the engine by the injection pump for transmission to the carpet cleaning injection nozzles. The coolant may be further heated as it is drawn from the engine by means of a heat exchanger which removes heat from the engine exhaust gases. The coolant may be further heated by deliberately employing an inefficient injection pump. The vacuum pump draws water from the carpet through a filter or sump which may be discharged through the sump pump when a predetermined coolant level is achieved in the sump. Make-up water may be delivered to the reservoir by a float-actuated valve which directs the make-up water through a venturi operative to inject a cleaning agent or solvent into the water. When the machine is not actually in carpet cleaning use, a temperature actuated valve may deliver coolant from the reservoir directly to the sump pump for discharge, thus preventing overheating of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,627 to Lionel D. Bascus (hereinafter, “Bascus”), titled “Water conditioning systems,” issued Jun. 29, 1982, and is incorporated herein by reference. Bascus describes a system for conditioning and dispersing wash water which is particularly suited for mobile carpet cleaning. The system comprises a liquid cooled internal combustion engine operating a high pressure pump, a water supply tank feeding water to the high pressure pump, a pulse pump for injecting chemicals into the water, an immersion heat exchanger downstream of the high pressure pump and a tool, which can be in the form of a cleaning wand when used for carpet cleaning, from which the chemically treated and heated water is dispersed onto a surface to be cleaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,424 to William Shero (hereinafter, “Shero”), titled “Carpet cleaning system,” issued Aug. 21, 1990, and is incorporated herein by reference. Shero describes an apparatus that consists of an internal combustion engine, the exhaust of which is directed through at least one heat exchanger for heating water/chemical cleaning fluid solution. A source of incoming water passes by a regulator into the inlet end of an engine driven pump, then through a balance pressure regulator valve positioned between the pump and the heat exchanger. A bypass valve intercepts a portion of the heated water after it passes by a thermostat downstream of the heat exchanger and directs this portion of heated water into a conduit leading back to the pump inlet thereby preheating the incoming water. A vacuum pump coupled to the engine draws a vacuum in a separate waste water recovery tank. A hand held carpet cleaner wand injects heated water transported under pressure through a flexible hose through an exhaust nozzle into the surface being cleaned. A vacuum intake port adjacent the exhaust nozzle of the wand vacuums up the residual fluid and directs the fluid back to the recovery tank through another flexible hose. The constantly circulating heated bypass water reduces stagnation of water in the heat exchanger when the wand is deactivated thereby effectively preventing a complete shut down of the system due to overheated water sensed by the thermostat in the heat exchanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,148 to Robert Gleadall (hereinafter, “Gleadall”), titled “Carpet cleaning apparatus,” issued Sep. 17, 1991, and is incorporated herein by reference. Gleadall describes a carpet cleaning apparatus consisting of a housing having a lower surface and an interior cavity. Wheels are secured adjacent to the lower surface of the housing. A conduit is secured to the housing. The conduit has a first end whereby the conduit may be coupled to a water supply and a second end with spray jets whereby fluids may be injected into a carpet. A discharge tank is secured within the interior cavity of the housing. The discharge tank has two suction ports, and two fluid inlets. Two suction conduits are provided. Each suction conduit has a first end communicating with one of the fluid inlets of the discharge tank and a second end disposed adjacent the lower surface of the housing. Two suction motors are secured in the interior cavity of the housing, each of the suction motors communicating with one of the suction inlets of the discharge tank such that a vacuum is created within the discharge tank and the suction conduits. Discharge fluids are drawn from the surface of a carpet via the suction conduits into the fluid inlets of the discharge tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,790 to David A. Smith et al. (hereinafter, “Smith et al.”), titled “Ductwork cleaning system,” issued Jan. 18, 2000, and is incorporated herein by reference. Smith et al. describe a system for cleaning building ductwork utilizing the equipment generally used to clean carpets. The system utilizes the vacuum unit and liquid waste tank from a carpet cleaning system. A flexible hose runs between the waste tank and the building ductwork. A water injection system is connected to the hose and is used to spray a stream of water into the air flowing through the flexible ductwork which will entrap any particles contained therein. The “dirty” water flowing out of the hose will flow to the waste tank for collection and disposal.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0256745 to Nicola Santoemma et al. (hereinafter, “Santoemma et al.”), titled “Moquette carpet cleaning machine operable in pull-back mode,” published Oct. 23, 2008, and is incorporated herein by reference. Santoemma et al. describe a moquette carpet cleaning machine (10) operable in pull-back mode comprising a machine body (11) provided with main rear wheels (12) and a suction mouth (14) placed at the front and is characterised in that support means (19) are constrained to the machine (10), on which support means (19) at least one auxiliary wheel (16) is mounted, and in that at least one from among the main wheels (12), suction mouth (14), the at least one auxiliary wheel (16) and support means (19) are movable means with respect to the machine body (11), between at least a first (A) and at least a second (B) relative position such that, when the movable means (12,14,19,16) are in the first relative position (A), the suction mouth (14) is maintained adherent to the ground (20), and when the movable means (12,14,19,16) are in the second relative position (B), the suction mouth (14) is maintained substantially raised from the ground (20).
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0000043 to Don M. McNulty (hereinafter, “McNulty”), titled “Carpet cleaning fluid injection apparatus,” published Jan. 7, 2010, and is incorporated herein by reference. McNulty describes a carpet cleaning fluid injection apparatus for adaptation to a vacuum nozzle. The injection apparatus configured to surround the vacuum nozzle for purposes of injecting the cleaning fluid into the carpet in proximity to the vacuum nozzle and the vacuum nozzle configured for extracting the cleaning fluid from the carpet.
PCT Application PCT/DK94/00390 (published as WO 95/10972 A1) to Jörgren Sjögreen (hereinafter, “Sjögreen”), titled “Universal vacuum cleaner,” published Apr. 27, 1995, and is incorporated herein by reference. Sjögreen describes a universal vacuum cleaner, which without disassembly or exchange of parts, free of choice can be used for dry vacuum cleaning, wet vacuum cleaning, carpet cleaning, floor wash and to suck up water from kitchen sinks and the like. The universal vacuum cleaner works by injecting water, to which may be added a detergent, in the sucked in air stream through a system of nozzles (21 and 22), after which foreign matters are wetted by water and detergents. The coarse foreign matters are picked up in a detachable pick up tray (7) including a coarse filter (8), from which the liquid is drained to the below placed detachable liquid container (4). The smaller foreign matters and the water are separated from the air in a cyclone (15), accumulated in a liquid pump (16), which pumps the water and foreign matters return to the liquid container (4), whereas the dry and dust free air escapes through the opening (24) in the top of the cyclone (15). The detergent recirculates constant by the liquid pump (17). The liquid container (4), containing the dirty water, is taken out and emptied in a sink, when the vacuum cleaning is finished, washed out and refilled with clean water at next vacuum cleaning.
European Patent Application Publication EP 1 106 566 A1 to the Proctor & Gamble Company (hereinafter, “Proctor & Gamble”), titled “Container connector with piercing means,” published Jun. 13, 2001, and is incorporated herein by reference. Proctor & Gamble describe a reservoir for use with a dispensing appliance for spraying a liquid is provided, wherein the dispensing appliance comprises a protecting plate and at least two needles for engaging the reservoir. The protecting plate has a locked position and an unlocked position, wherein the protecting plate is movable in the unlocked position to expose the needles and is immovable in the locked position. The reservoir comprises a finish with an opening which communicates with the interior of the reservoir and a membrane disposed across the opening, wherein the membrane has an exposed length of less than about 45 mm.
There is a need for an improved system and method for treating carpet odors.